1. Real Weddings

Stefanie & Kevin: A Springtime Wedding in Newcastle, WA

Stefanie and Kevin met at a mutual friend’s Fourth of July backyard barbecue and hit it off right away. At first they dated casually, but after a few

Stefanie and Kevin met at a mutual friend’s Fourth of July backyard barbecue and hit it off right away. At first they dated casually, but after a few months they realized theirs was more than just a summer romance. The Bride Stefanie Hlastala, 36, psychologist The Groom Kevin White, 30, program manager The Date April 21 Just less than a year after they’d met, Kevin proposed over dinner at their favorite restaurant. That night, after Stefanie said “yes,” Kevin surprised her with an engagement party with all their closest friends and family. Soon, plans were underway for a springtime wedding with a playful red and green color palette.

Kevin wore a classic, black Canali suit with a silver tie and a green hypericum berry boutonniere.
The homemade wedding programs featured a bright red border and motif, which were placed on each chair at the ceremony.
To complement the groomsmen’s green hypericum berry boutonnieres, the ring bearer donned a red hypericum berry boutonniere on his lapel.
The centerpieces -- white, ceramic pots filled with a mix of red anemones and begonias -- provided a punch of color to the reception tables. Small glass votives were also placed around the arrangements to add ambience and light.
Stefanie’s bridesmaids carried clusters of red spring flowers including tulips, anemones, ranunculus, begonias, and bouvardia, finished off with Midori sheer platinum ribbon.
Stefanie and Kevin chose Italian cream cake with blackberry mousse filling, iced with Italian cream. The all-white cake was decorated with bright red anemones and begonias.
Stefanie walked down the aisle carrying a hand-tied bouquet of white and green peonies, tulips, parrot tulips, anemones, ranunculus, and paperwhite narcissus. The blooms were wrapped with Midori sheer platinum ribbon.
The flower girl dropped rose petals from a rustic basket covered with green hypericum berries. She wore a white dress with bead detailing on the bodice and a celadon green ribbon around her waist to match the bridesmaid dresses.
The ceremony took place beneath a fabric-draped tent on the golf club’s terrace. Stefanie and Kevin stood beneath a rusted metal arch wrapped in green Smilax vines, flanked with two short, metal urns filled with green hydrangeas.
Stefanie and Kevin shared their first dance to Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder’s duet, “For Once In My Life.”
Guests took home mint-flavored white chocolates placed in small, white take-out boxes and wrapped in red ribbon.
Etch A Sketches kept Kevin’s two nephews busy before the ceremony while they waited for everyone else to get ready for the wedding.